Improvement in distilling apparatus



UNITED STATES PATENT Ormea.,

AUGUSTUS H. TAIT AND JOSEPH W. AVIS, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN DISTILLING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53,359, dated March 20,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, AUGUSTUS H. TAIT and JOSEPH YV. Avis, ot' the city,county, and State of NewYork, have invented a new and ImprovedDistilling Apparatus 5 and we do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable thoseskilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-Figure l represents a plan or top view of this invention. Fig. 2 is atransverse vertical section ot' the same, the line .r w, Fig. l,indicating the plane of section. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal verticalsection ot' the same, the plane ofsection being indicated by the line yy, Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate like part-s. i

This invention refers to a distilling apparatus which is particularlyintended for the purpose of refining petroleum and for separating thevarious ingredients thereof according to their specific gravity, or totheir different boilin g-points.

The invention consists in the use of a series of cast or wrought ironretorts set horizontally alongside of each other andacross the ue, andcommunicating with each other by zigzag tubes, in combination with afire-grate the breadth of which is nearly equal to the length ot' theretorts, said tire-grate being at one end of the series and the chimneyat the other end, in such a manner that the oil let into that retortnext to the chimney on passing` through the several retorts is graduallyheated and evaporated. The vapors rising from the oil in the severalretorts are swept 0E by the mechanical force of a current of steam orcompressed gas injected through a suitable pipe in that retortimmediately over the furnace, the discharge-pipe emanating from thefirst retort or from that next the chimney. It is obvious that thevapors rising` in the different retorts are formed ol liquid of moreorless specific gravity, according to the greater or smaller heat existingin said retorts, and the heavy vapors of the hottest retorts on passingthrough the remaining retorts mingle with the lighter vapors containedin said retorts, and on being condensed yield a liquid tit forilluminating purposes. The heavy and light oils are separated duringtheir passage through coils or serpentine pipes situated in condensersand tapped at different heights or at different distances from theircommencelnent, and the lightest oil is pumped back into a suitable tankand passed again and again through the series ot retorts. The tar andpitch pass oft' into a second set of retorts placed over a separatefurnace and somewhat lower than the tirst series. One ofthe second setof retorts is always in operation while the other may be cleaned, andthe products of evaporation otl the contents of these retorts arecarried back to the last retort in the first series and caused to minglewith the contents thereof, so as to be redistilled over and over untilthe same are completely divested of all parts capable of mixing with orforming burning oils.

Arepresents a tank which contains the crude oil, and which communicatesby a pipe, fawit-h the rst one ot' a series ot retorts, Rl Ri'l Ri RX.These retorts are made of Acast-iron or any other suitable material in acylindrical or any other desirable form or shape, and they are placedhorizontally alongside otl each other over a iiue which is provided witha tire-grate, situated under the retort Rx,aud which extends from saidgrate to the chimney that rises in close proximity to the retort R.

The several retorts connect with each other by means of pipes r, whichextend from the y opposite ends of the same, so as to cause the liquidor iiuid introduced into the retort at one end of the series to passthrough the several retorts in a zigzag course. The crude oil flows inacontinuous stream into the retort Rl, and thence through the first piperto the second retort, and so on until all the retorts are filled upabout halt' or to the middle of the connecting-pipes r. At this stageheat is applied by lighting a fire on the grate under the retort l xii.The oil in the retorts is thus gradually heated, thatiu the retort Rxbeing hottest and that in the retort Iti remaining coolest, andconsequently the lightest components ot the oil will be evaporated inthe'iirst and the heaviest components in the last retort.

The vapors thus formed pass oftl through the connecting-pipes r from theretort RX to the retort R, Sto., to the retort Ri, and thence throughthe pipe c to the first condenser, C; and in order to drive oft' thevapors by mechanical force a stream of steam or heated compressed gas ispassed in the last retort, Rxi, through the pipe b, which connects witha suitable generator, being provided with a stopcock, so as that thesupply of steam or heated gas can be regulated at pleasure. Vhle passingthrough the retorts the heavy vapors of the retorts RX? R, Snc., mixintimately with the light vapors of the first retorts Ri R, Sac., andthe product of condensation derived from the mixture of vapors is of therequisite density for burning oil.

The condenser C consists of a plain tank of sheet metal or any othersuitable material, in which is situated a serpentine pipe, G. Theseveral bends of this pipe are placed one above another, so that thesame are situated in different levels, and consequently the products ofcondensation derived from the several bends will be ot' different specicgravity, since the water in the condenser is coolest at the bottom andhottest on top. By tapping said serpentine pipe at different levels,therefore, liquids of different specilic gravity will be obtained.

We do not wish to confine ourselves, however, to the precise forni ofserpentine pipe shown in the drawings, since -an ordinary coil placed ina vertical or in a horizontal position will produce the same or asimilar result; but we use said serpentine pipe by preference, as theproducts of distillation drawn from it at different levels can bereadily distinguished according to their specific gravity.

The heavier oil, which has a high boilingpoint, is condensed in theupper bends, where the water is hottest, and can be drawn off throughthe trap and cock g, while the light oils are drawn oft' at thetail-pipe d. rlhe specific gravity of the oil drawn from said tailpipecan be regula-ted by drawing olf more or less of the heavy oil throught-he trap and cock g, and, if desired, by an additional supply ol" coldwater to the condenser the quantity of light oils condensing in theserpentine pipe can be increased. if a heavier oil is required at thetail-pipe d the cock g must be checked or closed and the heavy oilallowed to pass on to the tail-pipe d, and the supply of cold water mustbe checked, so as to allow a greater portion ofthe light oil of thedistillate to pass over into the second condenser, D, which connectswith the first condenser, C by the pipe h. These light oils and heavynaph tha are again separated during their passage through the secondcondenser, which is furnished with a serpentine pipe, D', trap and cocke, and tail-pipe t'. By regulating the supply of cold water the lightoil and naphtha of a density under 680 are drawn off at the trap andcock e, and collected in a separate receiver, whence it is pumped upinto the -tank B for future use, while the gasoline or light naphtha isreceived at the tail-pipe t' and collected in a separate receiver, andthe uncondensible gases pass off by the gas-pipej.

The lower part of the first condenser, C, be low the trap g, may beconsidered as a refrigerator to thoroughly cool the distillate.

The light oils and naphtha collecte/d in the tank B, as previouslystated, may be run back to the retort Rx through the pipe f, and thevapors rising therefrom, by being mixed with the heavy vapors containedin the last retorts, produce a distillate of the desired specificgravity.

The heavy products, such as tar and pitch, remaining' in the retort Rxiare passed into one of the retorts Rxi or Rm, which are placed separatefrom but contiguous to the rst series, set lengthwise over a separatelire-place divided by a partition wall, so that they can be usedalternately. They are set a little lower than the first series, so as toallow a fall for the tar and pitch to pass through the connecting-pipem, which is provided with suitable branch pipes and cocks, so thateither otl the retorts Rx or RXV can be brought in communication withthe retort RX. The object of having two or more additional retorts is toenable the operator to clean out the coke from one retort while theother is working without stopping the process. By means ot' thisapparatus all the available constituents of crude petroleum are saved,and the percentage ot' burning-oil obtained is considerably larger thanthat obtained by ordinary distilling apparatuses. Furthermore, byourapparatus the distilling process can be carried on withoutinterruption, and its operation requires a comparativel y smallexpenditure of fuel.

It is obvious that this apparatus maybe used for distilling otherliquids besides petroleum, such as coal-oil or spiritnous liquors.

We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Paten t l. Thearrangement of a series of retorts, Ri RX, set horizontally alongside ofeach other over and across the tire-flue, with the breadth of thetire-grate nearly equal to the length of the retorts, the furnace beingplaced at one and the chimney at the other end of the series,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The use of an impelled current of steam or suitable gas, incombination with the series of retorts Ri RX, substantially as specied,whereby the vapors are expelled from said retorts, and at the same timethe heavy vapors of the last retorts are caused to mingle intimatelywith the light vapors of the rst retorts, forthe purposes described.

3. The condensers CD, provided with condensing-coils C D', and applied,in combination with each other and with the retorts Ri R Rm,substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

4t. Tapping the condensing-coils C or D at different levels,substantially as and for the purposes described. Y

5. The cokin g retorts Rx Rxi", (two or morc,) applied, in combinationwith the retorts Ri RRX, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

A. H. TAIT.

Vitnesses: JOSEPH W. AVIS.

M. M. LIVINGSTON, WM. F. MGNAMARA.

